


funny how the stars crossed right, 'cause we work so well, and we don't even know why

by LilacsAndLilies



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Minor Injuries, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, because the boys are klutzy, soulmates can't lie to each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23684464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacsAndLilies/pseuds/LilacsAndLilies
Summary: Soulmates can't lie to each other. This is kind of an issue for Peter, who has a big secret in the shape of one red and blue onsie.
Relationships: Harley Keener & Tony Stark, Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 39
Kudos: 712
Collections: The Best Harley Keener & (or /) Peter Parker Fics, The Best of the Best MCU Fics





	funny how the stars crossed right, 'cause we work so well, and we don't even know why

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PeachyKeener](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachyKeener/gifts).



> Title from Why by Sabrina Carpenter
> 
> Happy Birthday Peachy! I hope you enjoy this.

Peter had always been enamored by the idea of a soulmate, of someone who was made exactly for him, someone he could trust, and who would trust him. Soulmates couldn’t lie to each other, and Peter always thought it was a sign, a way to physically show the intangibility of trust between two people. 

Not everyone had one. It wasn’t a sign of anything in particular. People still fell in love and lived their lives, simply because having a soulmate wasn’t a guarantee. There was no way to know if you had a soulmate or not, no point in waiting for someone you didn’t know existed. Ben and May weren't soulmates, and Peter could still see how much they loved each other, every single day. 

On the other hand, his parents were soulmates, and Peter grew up on stories of how they met and how much they cared for one another. It might have just been him, missing his parents, but they were always like a fairy tale to him, one that he wanted to chase. 

Of course, while some people just moved on and lived their life, never searching for someone that might not exist, there were others who spent every waking day trying to find their professed other half. At least half the population never used their real name, just as a way to lie to someone from the moment you meet. Peter had met far too many people in his life that introduced themselves with one name, only to backtrack and give him another, even more who probably never backtracked at all. He had thought about doing that at some point, but then came Spider-Man, and all of a sudden, the ability to lie meant more than broken trust. Peter still hoped, wished, that he could have and meet his soulmate, but he was still afraid to drag them into his messed up life. He decided it would be better to decide what to do when the moment came, and Peter busied himself with school, and superheroing, and working in the lab, never giving himself enough time to consider what he would do. 

He really should have considered what to do, Peter thought wryly as he stood in front of one Harley Keener. The Tennessee boy had come up to New York to spend the summer as another one of Tony’s interns and Peter had just realized he couldn’t lie to the boy. 

It started with an innocent enough question. “So, how’d you meet Tony?” The blond stood next to him in the doorway to the lab where Tony had left the two of them after claiming a work emergency. The smirk of the older man's face just confirmed Peter's suspicions that it was just an excuse to leave them alone to get to know each other.

“I came home one day to Tony Stark sitting on my couch. He wanted to recruit me to f-.” Peter froze as panic rose in his throat. He felt compelled to tell the truth, something pushed him to finish his sentence. Peter's brain launched into overtime as he realized that he couldn't lie to the Tennessee boy. He froze, before looking over Harley again. He had a soulmate and his soulmate was right in front of him in the form of a 6 foot southern blond who was already too hot to handle.

"Peter? You ok?" Harley looked at him with his bright blue eyes and Peter could feel himself short circuit.

"No, I'm not- I mean, no, I-" He groaned. "I'll be fine, just lost a hold of my ability to speak." So apparently sarcasm and idioms still worked fine.

Harley just nodded, lifting an eyebrow. "Sure… I'll believe you." If Peter was anyone else, he would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Tony trusted Harley, so he had no reason to hide, and yet, he still felt the need to see how long he could take this. He needed to know for himself what type of a person Harley was. The moment he met the blonde, the idea of keeping it a secret for safety was out of the question. He was already clearly friends with Tony Stark, and for all that Peter didn't trust himself, he trusted Tony to keep the people around both of them safe. It had taken him so long to break away from that fear, but he was getting there. And yet still, he couldn't bring himself to break the ruse, the attempt to lie, even when the very task was impossible.

"So what do you like to do?" 

The question snapped Peter out of his thoughts. "I, uh- I like biochemistry. You?"

Harley just smiled and Peter lost even more of his self control. How was he supposed to see what Harley was like when the boy was so distractingly beautiful?

"Mechanic, like the old man." Harley looked around the lab before giving a long wolf whistle. "It's an impressive lab. What's the set up?"

Peter blinked at the sudden change of topic, but was grateful all the same for the chance to occupy himself with other thoughts. He pointed at the individual machines and sections, explaining each of them to Harley. He quickly found out that it was almost too easy to talk to Harley, to treat him like a friend of decades rather than a stranger. The intimacy of the conversation was new to Peter, and not entirely unwanted, but foreign all the same. He wanted to believe that this was real, but some part of it felt insane, like he had been hoping for too long for it to come, and another part of him told him to be wary even if it was real, because how would he know what he could trust?

Finally, Peter reached the end of his mini tour. "And finally, this is your desk. The one next to yours is mine, and the one over there is Mr. Stark's."

Harley just nodded, sitting down at his station. "Why do you call him Mr. Stark?"

Peter just laughed. "It started out of respect and, honestly, as least a little bit of awe, but now it's because it annoys him." The word ‘honestly’ felt hollow, almost ironic. Nothing he said to the other teen would be anything but honest.

Harley just grinned at him. "I like the way you think Parker."

Peter ducked his head shyly. He couldn't help but feel warm inside at the offhand comment. It couldn't be a lie and that just made it sweeter. "Well, if you have any ideas, get to work, just mess around and get used to the place." He flashed a large smile at Harley before turning towards his desk and looking over the blueprints lying on it, slowly easing himself back into his work. 

"So, Parker, whatcha working on?" Harley asked, several minutes later. Peter spun around. Why hadn’t his senses warned him that Harley was behind him? Peter panicked before quickly sliding away all of his blueprints, scrambling up to cover his lab station with his body, leaning over to hide the web shooters. “Uh- web design?”

Harley stepped closer and Peter got flustered. “Web design? I thought you said you were a biochemist?”

“Uh- I am, it’s just a thing I’m doing on the side, working with some other people on it.” Peter tried to push his web shooters into a shelf behind him, slowly straightening up, only to find himself standing toe to toe with one Harley Keener. Peter’s breathing got heavy as Harley slowly stepped away. 

“Ok…” The blond looked completely unaffected and what looked like a smirk graced his face.

“So... “ Peter desperately searched for another topic. “What are you working on?”

“Nothing important.” Harley just shrugged, turning away from him, sitting back down at his desk. 

"What do you mean nothing important?" Peter got up from his seat and walked over to Harley's, leaning over the other boy's shoulder. He hadn't made any serious progress yet, which was expected, considering they only started working about half an hour ago.

"Just- just getting used to the space, making things I've made a hundred times before." The blond smiled, and Peter knew there was a story behind the knowing grin. 

"And what would that be?" Peter leaned in closer, practically resting his head on the other boy's shoulder.

The sudden weight caused Harley to jerk, the Xacto knife in his hand slicing a clean cut through his skin. Harley yelped, immediately gripping onto his palm with his other hand. The knife clattered to the table.

Peter jumped up, rushing towards the first aid kit in the lab. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault." Harley said. "The cut isn't too big, should heal in a day or two."

Peter didn't say anything, instead sitting down on the bench next to Harley and opening the kit. The bench was small, and Peter had to sit flush against Harley just to fit on it. The physical contact made it difficult for Peter to focus on anything else, but first aid was practically second nature to him and he started tending to the cut. One look at it was enough to settle his focus.

"How much does it hurt?" The cut looked pretty deep, but Peter couldn't tell exactly how painful it would or would not be. 

"I'm n- I'm not ok. It hurts." Harley's eyes grew wide and Peter felt dread settle in his bones. Harley knew. It didn't even take an hour for both of them to try to lie to each other. Peter kept his mouth shut and finished up the bandages, all the while watching Harley closely. The blond was looking down at his lap, or more particularly, at the space between both of them, as if just realizing how close they were, or maybe seeing it in a new light.

"I-" Harley looked at his hands, at how Peter was holding them, and struggled to find the words to say.

"Don't. Not yet." Peter just kept working. His brain felt like it had completely shut down. First he did this, then they would discuss whatever was going on.

Harley just nodded and took a deep breath. Peter finished fixing the bandage before pulling away his hands and turning to face Harley. "Are you ok?"

"I will be." Harley gave him a small smile. Then the smile faded, and in a quieter voice he asked, "You already know, don't you?" Peter just nodded, not trusting himself to speak. "Why didn't you say anything?"

That was the million dollar question, wasn't it? Why didn't he say anything? "Because… because I was scared. Because I don't know how to deal with all of this and I guess I just- I needed the time to process it." Peter pointedly avoided Harley's eyes. Harley probably thought he was a coward, he probably hated who the universe had given him as a soulmate.

"Same, I guess. I'm scared." Peter's head snapped up. Harley looked so vulnerable and all Peter wanted to do was curl up around him and protect him, but how could he when he was the one causing the pain?

Harley took a deep breath and continued. "But at least we can be scared together."

Peter relaxed. That was so much better than anything he could have expected. "Yeah, I guess we can."

Harley lifted up his hand, the one without the cut, and stuck it out towards Peter. "I think we've both been doing this wrong, let's start again. Hi, I’m Harley Keener. I’m a mechanic from Rose Hill, Tennessee, and I'm your soulmate”

Peter smiled before pulling Harley's hand into a handshake. “Hi, I’m Peter Parker, a biochemist from Queens, New York City, and I'm your soulmate.”

The two of them sat there, their hands clasped as the handshake slowly collapsed into both of them just holding hands, getting to know the person the universe had told them would be perfect for them.

Then, Tony came barging through the door. "Sorry, they were planning a luncheon with some important people and they wanted to ask me something. I was told it was an emergency but it was really just to try out which type of bread was the best, can you imagine?" He had a smirk on his face, which quickly dropped when he saw Peter and Harley and the small drops of blood on the table next to them. "What happened here?"

Pete and Harley both instinctively pulled their hands away. “Oh uh- nothing much Mr. Stark.” Peter looked at the older man with a glare, annoyed at the lack of subtlety he had in trying to leave them alone. 

Harley got up and grabbed a paper towel to wipe away the blood. “Don’t worry so much old man, I just cut myself with the Xacto knife. It’s not even that deep and Peter already bandaged it, I’ll be fine.”

Harley lifted his arm to show the bandages and Tony gave a small sigh of relief. Then the rest of the sentence registered and the older man raised an eyebrow. “Peter bandaged it? You two must have gotten close in the last hour.”

Peter’s face grew red. “I- well- I was the one who uh- indirectly caused him to get hurt, so it only seemed fair.” 

Harley sat back down on the bench next to Peter, nudging him in the shoulder. “You make it sound so impersonal.” He teased the brunette.

Peter only flushed more. He turned to look at Harley and smiled. Harley seemed a lot more approachable now, and Peter couldn’t say he minded the teasing if it meant getting to see the blond like this and get to know him better.

“Ok, something weird’s going on and I would like to know what it is. What are you two planning?” Tony pulled up a chair and sat down across from the two boys.

Peter knew now would be the right time to say something, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it, like saying the words out loud to someone else would make it more real. From the lack of noise coming from Harley, it was apparent he felt the same way. Peter moved his arm to the side, grasping Harley’s hand in his own. Then he took a deep breath, and at the same time both of them looked to Tony and said, “We’re soulmates.”

Tony’s mouth dropped wide open. “You’re kidding right?”

Peter just shook his head, enjoying the look of shock on his ~~father~~ mentor’s face. Tony looked at both of them, and then up at the ceiling. “How did I not see that coming?”

At the last comment, Peter and Harley both broke into laughter at how ridiculous the entire situation was. After the laughter died out, Peter looked down at their clasped hands and smiled. He was still scared for whatever this was going to bring, but he was also excited, like that childhood wonder was back. He couldn’t wait to see what would come next.

Tony leaned back in his chair. “So you can’t lie to each other.” Peter nodded. “So I’m assuming this means he knows that you’re Spider-Man?”

Harley turned to face him, shock clear on his face. “You’re what?!?”

**Author's Note:**

> Talk to me on tumblr @lilacsandlilies4  
> or on discord @LilacsAndLilies#4691

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [even our eyes are different colors, but we see just fine](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23927143) by [MayWilder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MayWilder/pseuds/MayWilder)




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